Easterly Buys District-Leased Building for $119M
D.C. Public Schools and the District’s Department of Energy and Environment inked a 215K-SF renewal in 2023
By Nick Trombola April 4, 2025 7:00 pm
reprints
Easterly Government Properties, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate investment trust that leases some 9.3 million square feet to the federal government, has purchased an office building in D.C.’s NoMa neighborhood for $119 million, according to the Business Journals. Principal Financial Group sold the property, records show.
Easterly’s portfolio tends to focus on headquarters or mission critical space, such as its new building at 1200 First Street NE, just a few blocks east of Union Market. The property, dubbed Capitol Plaza I, currently houses the headquarters of D.C. Public Schools, as well as the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment. The pair of local agencies inked a 215,000-square-foot renewal lease in the building in 2023, per the Business Journals. Other tenants include CVS, Wells Fargo (WFC) and Vitas Healthcare.
The REIT purchased the building in anticipation of education resources funneling down to state and local school systems, rather than through the U.S. Department of Education, according to a person familiar with the deal. President Donald Trump last month effectively ordered the dismantling of the federal Education Department.
The purchase isn’t the first time Easterly has acquired property utilized by a public school system. At the end of last year, the REIT paid $72.5 million for a three-building campus in Cary, N.C., that is 97 percent leased to the Wake County Public School System. The purchase is in line with the REIT’s goal of finding opportunities in areas with strong employment and high credit ratings.
Despite the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to downsize the federal government’s real estate portfolio, Easterly CEO Darrell Crate told Commercial Observer last month that his company was well positioned to take advantage of the cuts.
Easterly focuses on leasing mission-critical space, such as labs and regional headquarters for law enforcement agencies, which are unlikely to be cut anytime soon. Besides, 95 percent of the government’s leases with Easterly are “firm term,” meaning that the government cannot terminate a given lease without a valid reason, such as poor maintenance.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
